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December 2009, vol.2, issue 12 A publication of the R. W. Norton Art Gallery |
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REMINDERS:
To visit the R. W. Norton Art Gallery website, go to http://www.rwnaf.org/.
Ongoing Special Exhibits: Turning Wood Into Art will be on display through January 3, 2010.
Ultra Realistic Sculpture by Marc Sijan will be on display through December 20, 2009.
The next First Saturday Tour: Christmas - Gifts of the Heart will be on December 5th at 2 p.m.
On Saturday, December 12 at 2 p.m., thirty-five fourth- and fifth-grade students of the South Highlands Tiger Chorus will raise their voices in a varied holiday repertoire.
The next Saturday Speaker Father Magnum, will be in to talk about the Book of Hours on December 19th at 2 p.m.
HOLIDAY HOURS
The R. W. Norton Art Gallery will be closed Christmas Eve, Thursday December 24th, and Christmas Day, Friday December 25th.
The museum will also be closed New Year’s Day, Friday January 1st.
Around the Gallery
Editor
Kristi Kohl
Contributors
Everl Adair
Jennifer DeFratis
Gary Ford
Kip Dehart
Emily Meyers
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R. W. NORTON ART GALLERY & GARDENS HONORED WITH AWARD
The R. W. Norton Art Gallery was honored at Shreveport Green’s Annual Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, November 3, 2009. Shreveport Green is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the city's environment and enhancing its economy through public education and community beautification, litter abatement, and recycling projects. The Shreveport Beautification Foundation, an award program offered by Shreveport Green, acknowledged the museum for its exceptional landscaping and garden maintenance. The award recognizes the museum’s ongoing commitment to improving our city.
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CHRISTMAS: A JOURNEY IN IMAGE AND WORD,
December 8, 2009 – January 3, 2010
Every year it seems the Christmas decorations appear earlier and earlier. Ornaments and garlands joust for shelf space with pumpkins and masks, while Thanksgiving becomes a holding place between better-marketed holidays. And as we get closer and closer to the culmination of what we’ve come to call the holiday season, we find frayed tempers crowding stores and road rage permeating parking lots as we worship with our wallets. Somewhere between the tympani of Jingle Bells and the nostalgia of Auld Lang Syne, we can forget that this day has ever been about anything but stress.
This year we at the R.W. Norton Art Gallery decided to present a reminder of how the season got its name and why people continue to embrace it independent of overflowing malls, gridlocked traffic, and credit card conundrums. No sleighs or reindeer, no wreaths or mistletoe. Instead, for our first in-house featured exhibition, we’ve collected an eight-century array of images and words by artists and authors, each of whom sought to illustrate in his or her own way why the birth of Jesus is a reason for the world to celebrate. At the heart of this exhibition is the Norton’s 14th-century Book of Hours, a medieval illuminated manuscript on display for the first time. Handwritten and illustrated in convents and cloisters, these books were intricately crafted artifacts intended to aid personal religious devotions. Evidence suggests that at one time this particular work passed through the hands of both King Louis XI of France and St. Francis de Paul. At 2:00 on December 19th Fr. Peter Mangum of St. John Berchmann’s Cathedral will join us to talk about the book’s iconography and share the meaning behind its magnificent miniatures. amazing piece that makes its debut this Christmas season is the Madonna della Pieta, a limited edition silver cast of the bust of the Madonna from Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the Pieta, created through a special arrangement with the Vatican. Sculpted when the artist was only 24, the Pieta has become an iconic image and the delicate face of his Madonna, perpetually youthful yet suffused with grief, compassion, and resignation, has become her most popular portrayal. For instance, Wedgwood’s bust of the Madonna, also on display, is clearly drawn from Michelangelo’s version.
Other works on display for the first time include Rembrandt’s 17th century etchings The Return of the Prodigal Son and The Blindness of Tobit, Canaletto’s 18th century etching Landscape with a Pilgrim at Prayer, an original drawing by Jean-Honore Fragonard of St. Anne Teaching the Young Virgin to Read, and Renaissance artist Jan Pynas’s painting, The Calling of St. Peter. They will be joined by other more familiar pieces from the Norton’s permanent collection such as Charles Marion Russell’s The Three Wise Men and Thomas Sully’s Christ Blessing the Little Children.
In addition to this feast for the eyes, the Norton is also providing food for thought with some of the works from its Rare and Antiquarian Book Collection. The renowned 1516 Genoa Psalter, an 1828 Dibdin edition of The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, an 1862 Book of Common Prayer, the beautifully illustrated 19th century limited edition Dore Bible, and first edition copies of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ and Quo Vadis are among those books that will be on display.
From the 14th to the 20th century, the one thing all these works have in common is the inspiration provided by the “Babe of Bethlehem”, as St. Francis of Assisi memorably called him. So, with no disrespect intended to Rudolph, Frosty, and especially Santa, we nevertheless hope this exhibition brings to mind another name and provides you with some special inspiration for the season. Please join us at the Norton for Christmas: A Journey in Image and Word, on display from December 8, 2009 through January 3, 2010.
Everl Adair, Director of Research and Rare Collections
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TIPS FROM KIP: Decorating with Poinsettias, Christmas Cactus, and Narcissus
Two of the most common Christmas colors, red and green, are found in plants commonly associated with the holiday: poinsettias, holly, mistletoe, and Christmas cactus, along with narcissus, rosemary, frankincense, myrrh, and Christmas berry.* All brighten the season with their foliage and fruits, and liven up otherwise dreary, wintry days.
To ensure proper care and to keep plants colorful throughout one holiday season and into the next, follow these simple tips:
Poinsettias - Keep them in a sunny location and away from drafts, and fertilize every three weeks. Allow the plant to dry out between each watering, and then water thoroughly. These steps keep poinsettias blooming into late February.
Christmas cactus – Position your cactus in filtered sunlight away from direct heat. Allow the top half of the soil to dry out between waterings. Fertilize once a month. After it blooms, trim back the leaves to encourage new growth.
Narcissus – After it flowers, fertilize your narcissus every three weeks. As the foliage dies, gradually reduce your watering. Keep the bulb dry and cool in the same container, and add soil as needed.
Following these steps help you enjoy greenery’s color and fragrance next year.
*Note: you can read more about Christmas berry in the December 2008 issue of Around the Gallery. Just go to www.rwnaf.org.
Kip Dehart, Landscape Director
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OUT IN THE GARDENS: Beautiful and Useful Holly
Besides the Christmas tree, holly ranks as the holiday season’s most popular greenery. American holly, Christmas holly, and English holly represent just a few of 600 species widely used as hedges and ornamental plants in home and public gardens and parks.
The evergreen’s green leaves and red berries provide more than ornamentation. Many species of birds feast on the berries, while the spiny leaves provide them protection from predators. While the berries are mildly toxic to humans, the leaves may be steeped for herbal teas.
In addition to berries and leaves, these beautiful plants offer a highly useful, heavy, hard wood. Holly was shaped into spinning rods of looms in the 1800s. Peter Carl Fabergé even used holly for cases of his famous eggs. Furniture craftsmen often turn to holly for fine, decorative inlays.
In our Norton botanical garden, you can enjoy two holly varieties, the Savannah holly (Ilex x attenuata ‘Savannah’) and the Burford holly (Ilex cornuta ‘Burfordii’).
Native to North America, Savannah holly presents a narrow, open pyramidal form and grows at a moderate rate of one foot per year. The spiny, dull, dark green leaves contrast nicely with heavy clusters of red berries, which persist throughout the fall and winter. To ensure production of berries, male and female trees must be located in close proximity. Disease and infestation of the Savannah holly is usually minimal.
The Burford holly produces dark, green, glossy leaves. Although not native to North America, the Burford remains one of the most popular shrubs in the country. Fragrant clusters of white flowers attract bees in spring, while large berries redden in fall and last well into winter. In contrast to the Savannah holly, Burfords are self-fertile and do not need a male plant nearby for pollination.
This holiday season, stroll through the Norton gardens to see our ornamental and beautiful holly trees. The striking red berries and glossy green leaves will brighten your winter months.
Kristi Kohl, Staff Researcher
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VOICES FROM THE ARCHIVES: Allen R. Stevens, Platoon Sergeant in the 405th Infantry Regiment, 102nd Infantry Division
For awhile I thought to myself: ‘The only thing that kept me going was that angel that the Lord had riding on my shoulder’ because there were so many things that happened just an inch one way or an inch the other way would have been the end of me. But I believe he had an angel on my shoulder, leading me all the way. It couldn’t have happened any other way because there were too many things happened.
Allen R. Stevens, a platoon sergeant in the 405th Infantry Regiment, 102nd Infantry Division, was twice wounded and earned two Purple Hearts. He is among more than 400 men and women from the Shreveport area who graciously gave their time to tell us their life stories of service and sacrifice. We’re preserving those stories as part of our Oral History Project, an ongoing effort to interview members of the World War II generation, along with veterans of subsequent American conflicts. We also want to hear from eyewitnesses and participants in the civil rights struggle, as well as those who shaped the economical and cultural heritage of the city and the nation.
Click here to view additional photographs and to listen to the audio of the interview with Mr. Stevens.
If you or someone you know would like to share stories with us, please call (318) 865-4201, or contact ohp@rwnaf.org.
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FEATURED ARTIST IN THE COLLECTION: Guy Coheleach (1933- )
Artist and adventurer, Guy Coheleach has often let his quest for authenticity lead him into dangerous encounters, including being run down by an elephant while filming a PBS documentary on his work. Born in New York, Coheleach trained at the Cooper Union School of Art. Since then, the broad international array of his animal subjects has made him one of the most popular wildlife artists in the world. In White on White: Snowy Owl, he demonstrates his mastery of a sophisticated and difficult painting technique while also celebrating a domestic species.
Everl Adair, Director of Research and Rare Collections
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FEATURED ARTWORK IN THE COLLECTION: The Christmas Letter by Eastman Johnson
Arguably the best-known genre painter of the latter 19th century, Eastman Johnson specialized in depicting the bonds of family. In his painting, The Christmas Letter, we see a big sister boosting her little brother so he can drop a letter in the mailbox. This is an evening in which the frigid weather has driven most people indoors and bundled up the well-to-do in their long cloaks and woolen coats.
Johnson’s subjects lack these luxuries. Their clothing is too light for the winter weather and they have no adults here to look out for them. All they really have is each other. This particular painting explores the special bonds between big sisters and little brothers. She is lifting him up to post that “Christmas letter” and what is a Christmas letter but the triumph of hope over experience for poor children like these? Clearly this must be a letter to Santa Claus, and equally clearly, there is no parent upon whom the children could depend to see that such a letter reached its goal.
The important gift, the one the painter clearly intends, is in the simple act of that sisterly boost. Note that she is not mailing a letter of her own. She is merely helping her brother dream of a bright Christmas morning complete with presents, tinsel and candy. Johnson does something special here; he makes us remember what we sometimes forget – that Christmas is about what we feel for others, not what we want for ourselves.
Everl Adair, Director of Research and Rare Collections
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BEHIND THE SCENES: Gary Ford, Staff Writer
Gary D. Ford finished a thirty-year career as an editor and writer for Southern Living, the magazine based in Birmingham, Alabama, and joined us this year at the Norton as staff writer.
A native of nearby Kilgore, Texas, and graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, Gary worked in newspapers, then spent five years as public relations director at Callaway Gardens, a resort in Pine Mountain, Georgia, before joining the magazine. He began working with us on a part-time basis in 2003 when we initiated our Oral History Project. He has completed manuscripts for two books on World War II veterans we have interviewed, and, for our web site, continues to write synopses of each person we interview.
Gary has produced the museum’s press kit (soon available on our web site). He writes press releases on museum special events, submits articles to magazines and newspapers about the Norton, and is exploring book and article projects on historic sites around the country. He lives with his wife, Cindy, in Lanett, Alabama, where he works from his home office. He enjoys traveling to Shreveport to join us on-site several days each month.
The Norton isn’t new to Gary.
“I featured the museum in one story in Southern Living, and included it in other stories about travel opportunities in Shreveport,” Gary says. “Now, it’s a joy and a privilege to be a part of this magnificent museum and the botanical garden, and to work with such a dedicated staff.”
Kristi Kohl, Staff Researcher
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FOR THE KIDS: Group Art Lessons in the Museum
The R. W. Norton Art Gallery provides the perfect learning environment for people of all ages, but especially for our children. South Highlands' Elementary School Boy Scout Pack 4 (first through fourth grades) recently earned their art belt loop in the museum's first hands-on art lesson inside the museum. Under the guidance of Emily Meyers, director of education, the program began with an introduction to the various media represented in the collection, including bronze, marble, silver, glass, and oil on canvas. Next, the boys and their families were presented with some common elements of design and art terms, such as impasto (thickly applied paint). Finally, the children used crayons and paints on paper to demonstrate their understanding of the lesson.
The Norton staff hope that children of all ages will take advantage of the art programs being offered and continue to return to the museum to appreciate the collection with their families and friends.
Kristi Kohl, Staff Researcher
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WORTH QUOTING
“The sculptor represents the transition from one pose to another…He indicates how insensibly the first glides into the second. In his work we still see a part of what was and we discover a part of what is to be.” ---
Auguste Rodin
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QUERIES FOR KRISTI
How did Martin Johnson Heade attain such brilliant light in his paintings, such as Giant Magnolias and Red Roses & Rosebuds in a Glass?
A native Pennsylvanian, Heade (1819-1904) began his life as an artist as a member of the Hudson River School, but soon was attracted to another movement, Luminism. The art critic John I. H. Baur describes Luminism’s key attribute as, “the unique sense of light that seems to emanate from the painting itself.” While the early Hudson River School painters relied on old, placid, organic colors, these later painters used new, brilliant synthetic hues, such as cadmium red and yellow. By 1856, the availability of innovative paints and brighter colors, such as cobalt violet, cobalt yellow, magenta, and mauve, allowed artists to portray luminescence in their work that earlier artists could not achieve.
Artists evoked light by using these brighter colors through a variety of techniques, such as scumbling. One layer of paint (usually a thin layer of opaque, semi-opaque, or transparent color) was partially applied over another color without completely obscuring the under-painting. By adding a thin layer of color over a brilliant white, for instance, the artist creates the illusion of brightness or light diffusing the color. The technique of scumbling can be seen in both of Heade’s paintings on display in the South Wing corridor.
Kristi Kohl, Staff Researcher
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DID YOU KNOW?
‘Hello, Rodin?’ The R. W. Norton Art Gallery now offers Guide By Cell tours.
To see most museums, you can join a group tour or mosey through on your own, squinting at text boxes beside art works. Or you can just stick it in your ear. That’s a new option at R.W. Norton Art Gallery, where twenty-four galleries display seven centuries of art. The museum, open free of charge to the public, offers a guided tour without a guide. With Guide by Cell, you may stand before a painting, flip open your phone, dial a local number, and follow prompts to listen and learn new insights about the work and its artist.
“This really helps the visitor to enjoy a more in-depth, but time-wise way to see the museum,” comments Jennifer DeFratis, coordinator of special events and tours. “When I visit another museum, I enjoy a guided tour, but I may want to see it on my own. Guide by Cell lets you walk at your own pace, and choose what you want to hear.”
The Norton, as its fans call it, is only one of two museums in Louisiana to offer the service. Cost for the tour is measured by your current cell phone plan, however your minutes are applied.
As you stroll through the museum, look for cards beside artworks bearing the Guide by Cell logo and a question. Enter a mailbox prompt to hear the answer.
For example, in the museum’s American West collection, which features the extensive works of Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, among others, a Guide by Cell card appears beside Hard-Pushed, a work by Charles Schreyvogel. The question on the card reads: “What happened between Remington and Schreyvogel that sold millions of newspapers?” The answer involves George Armstrong Custer’s widow, cavalry uniform authenticity, and artistic temperament. Newspaper readers back then lapped up the controversy.
Then, stroll over to another work of art and press the prompt for the answer to another question. If you wander widely without entering prompts, you may have to re-dial the number.
Although no guide is present, you may still voice opinions and offer suggestions concerning grounds, galleries, exhibits, and programs, such as Guide by Cell. Touch the appropriate prompt, and speak your piece.
“Please let us know. That’s how we may improve the visitor experience,” Jennifer comments.
Voices you’ll hear on your phone include those of DeFratis, museum curators, and artists themselves. They will continue to narrate answers to new questions, so Guide by Cell will offer fresh, new looks at even more exhibits in coming months.
For additional informative, entertaining walks through the Norton, visitors may want to join DeFratis early each month for her popular First Saturday Tour, at 2 p.m. The Norton also offers group tours by appointment. If you choose to experience the museum on your own, however, you still have a guide in your hand and at your ear, all at the touch of your finger, whenever you choose to listen.
Gary Ford, Staff Writer
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| EDUCATIONAL TOURS, PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS |
FIRST SATURDAY TOURS
Regularly scheduled tours are offered on the first Saturday of every month at 2 p.m. No reservation is required for these First Saturday Tours. Groups of 10 or more are asked to call ahead so preparations may be made to accommodate the group on these particular tours. All tours, like admission to the Gallery, are free to the public. The next First Saturday Tour Christmas - Gifts of the Heart will be on December 5th at 2 p.m.
SOUTH HIGHLANDS’ CHOIR
TO PERFORM ON DECEMBER 12
On Saturday, December 12 at 2 p.m., thirty-five fourth- and fifth-grade students of the South Highlands Tiger Chorus will raise their voices in a varied holiday repertoire. The group, from Shreveport’s South Highlands School and under the direction of Charles Brutus, will sing well-known selections such as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “Silent Night.” The chorus will also perform carols from other countries and traditions, such as “A La Puerta Del Cielo,” from Mexico, “Manx Lullaby,” a Welsh carol, and “Bidi Born,” in honor of Hanukkah, which begins at sundown on December 11.
GROUP TOURS
Eighteen group tours are offered at the Norton ranging from the 19th Century French Art History Tour to the Cowboy Artists Tour. Group tours are available by appointment year-round for groups of 10-30 and last approximately 45 minutes.
OUTREACH PROGRAM
The purpose of the community Outreach Program is to take art and art education to people through interactive presentations. Community Presentations consist of PowerPoint presentations to civic groups and assisted living facilities.
For more information on the programs offered or to schedule a tour or presentation, click here.
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SATURDAY SPEAKER SERIES
One Saturday each month, the Norton will host a local, regional, or national expert speaking on a variety of subjects in formats ranging from formal presentations to informal seminars to walking tours. Upcoming speakers will cover a broad range of subjects including gardening, popular literature and film, influential historical and cultural figures, musical history and interpretation, and food in art. All events are free to the public. The next Saturday Speaker, Father Magnum, will be in to talk about the Book of Hours on December 19th at 2 p.m. As part of our Christmas festivities, Father Peter Mangum of the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans will speak about the traditions surrounding our 14th century illuminated manuscript, a beautiful book of hours with a 700-year history.
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
The R.W. Norton Art Foundation is pursuing interviews with those who were involved in America's effort to win World War II, whether in the military or on the home front. Each interview will be digitally recorded by the Gallery to be stored and used for historical purposes, and each interview subject will also be given a copy of this recording to share and preserve his or her memories for family and friends.
If you are interested in participating in or would like more information about the Oral History Project, please click here.
SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS?
To offer us feedback or to suggest what you’d like to see in upcoming issues, please click here.
GALLERY LOCATION AND HOURS:
4747 Creswell Avenue
Shreveport, LA 71106
318-865-4201
www.rwnaf.org
Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 1 - 5 p.m.
Closed Mondays and National Holidays
Copyright © 2009 by R. W. Norton Art Gallery |
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